Casey's blog

There's more to detoxification than buying a 10-day cleanse kit from the chemist and drinking lemon and warm water for a week. A lot more.

But if you read my articles regularly or are a client, you probably already knew that!

Of course, we can reduce our intake of toxins in the first place by eating whole, organically grown foods, spending lots of time in unpolluted natural spaces, reducing our use of chemical-containing body care and cleaning products, and optimising our work and family environments to produce as few stress chemicals as possible (which have an inflammatory and acidic effect on our bodies). But in our modern world it's pretty hard to avoid all toxins in the environment, and our lives and relationships can get really stressful, a lot of the time.

This is where the best detox kit on the market comes in. YOUR BODY.

Your body is equipped with all it needs to detoxify many of the heavy metals, chemicals and impurities that it faces each and every day.

This smoothie is simple and a favourite of Andreas'. It's perfect for anyone with a salicylate sensitivity as it contains ingredients that are low in this naturally-occurring food chemical. Salicylates are present in high levels in many foods including strawberries, tomatoes, honey, spices, eggplant, and citrus. For those sensitive to them, salicylates can cause rashes and itching, as well as IBS. Enjoy this easy to make smoothie whether you're salicylate sensitive or not. It's so simple and delicious!

Without a doubt this is the wildest smoothie I've made this year! I'm really enjoying using more herbs and plant extracts in my green smoothies lately. Plus it makes for some wild concoctions! Learning more about herbs from my naturopath-student boyfriend has not only encouraged me to start a naturopathy degree next semester. It's also getting me experimenting more in the kitchen. Something I've really, really missed. It helps that I now have access to an amazing blender and a full indoor kitchen, having moved out of my forest caravan and back into civilisation last week!

Schizandra berry is an adaptogen, meaning it helps you adapt to physical and emotional stress. It's also an incredible liver tonic and antioxidant, assisting with both phase 1 and 2 liver detoxification. Healthy liver function is vital for great skin, because if your liver isn't detoxifying properly toxins will use the skin as a back up escape route, meaning breakouts and rashes. I used the powdered berry in this super smoothie. You can buy ground up, dried schizandra berry from health food shops. Or you can order it through australherbs.com.au for around $11 for 250 grams.

Aloe Vera gel straight from the plant contains polysaccharides that lubricate the skin, joints and nervous system, giving your skin that dewy look. Anti-inflammatory aloe is also epic for healing the gut and is an amazing immune-modulator, meaning it helps bring an deficient immune system back to normal boosting your ability to fight bacterial and viral infections.

Raw cacao nibs are high in antioxidants such as Vitamin, C, as well as minerals magnesium, iron, and zinc - all crucial for healthy skin.

This smoothie was delicious and the perfect post-gardening breakfast! Here's the recipe:

I whipped up this delicious smoothie yesterday whilst moving out of my forest caravan home.

I needed something fast and delicious to fuel all the heavy load hauling I was doing. It really hit the spot!

This creation is a blend of two of the smoothies I formulated for Lifebar's smoothie menu, and it combines the best of coconut and mango (already yum) with a greens-packed, minty smoothie and some anti-inflammatory turmeric and barley grass powder to give it a nutrition boost. Blissarama!

The land cruiser in the background is proving very useful in moving large loads of my Dad's tools from my outdoor shed and to my new home in Southport!